Thread: Tree Collapse on Zipline Bridge in Chiang Mai Claims One Chinese Tourists Life, Injur

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

I'm surprised you're missing the point too.

Am I?

Quite frankly, there is an inherent risk in any activity carried out in tropical forests. The inaccessibility means structures are never going to meet the highest safety standards. Tropical trees tend to have very shallow roots, on a slope they are even more vulnerable and you really need some sort of slope for a zip-line.

If you are thinking it's all going to be safe as houses, forget it, just don't bother going if that's what you want.

I take my wife to the woods in Europe and she's scared the second she hears a tree creak or sees one sway. Doesn't matter how many times I tell her the roots are much deeper and the risk is way less, she keeps a weary eye on them and gets the hell out if she thinks there's any sort of danger.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

safety inspections

You are new here, aren't you?

It is not as if the UK left the EU because of those overbearing Brussels safety regulations

Tax, he’s a seppo, he probably still thinks there is a God.

Originally Posted by Seekingasylum

Tax, he’s a seppo, he probably still thinks there is a God.

You are such a ridiculous old man, your kiddie fiddler countrymen are all about a God, the same as all you religious morons, like your Mussie brothers.

You can get help for your alcoholism, you know.

Or at least a bib.

Originally Posted by Seekingasylum

You can get help for your alcoholism, you know.

Ok, like Sympl I'm not the one sat in Thailand with nothing left but to think I'm a success coz I have no kids and no mortgage but I have made a life for myself in nowhere

Originally Posted by malmomike77

Ok, like Sympl I'm not the one sat in Thailand with nothing left but to think I'm a success coz I have no kids and no mortgage but I have made a life for myself in nowhere

ouch.

Originally Posted by Stumpy

BWAHAHAHAHA. All I can say is Geeeeezuuus Fkn Coooooooorist.

OK so lets say I was up fishing at a lake. A tree fell. I was in its path. I died. Lets blame the Thai people for that.

It wouldn't be considered a high risk if you've wandered up to a lake somewhere to do some fishing.

It would if you were on a bridge that was the only way out at a tourist attraction.

See the difference?

Originally Posted by Troy

Am I?

Quite frankly, there is an inherent risk

Yes there is, and the higher it is, the more precautions should be taken.

Originally Posted by Molle

You are new here, aren't you?

No. Otherwise I'd be asking how a safety inspection failed to address the risk, wouldn't I?

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

It wouldn't be considered a high risk if you've wandered up to a lake somewhere to do some fishing.

It would if you were on a bridge that was the only way out at a tourist attraction.

See the difference?

Just stop HB and stick with Stock Dabbling. What many fail to see here is that shit happens. Sure let's take out the "Zipline" business. Let's say these 2 Tourists were on a bridge and a tree fell. Is that Thai incompetence?

My point is that while sure there are many things that happen here that are negligence. I am by no means saying that living here is void of that. But come on. This appears to be just an unfortunate event. To Troy's point, anywhere one travels and they are doing "Touristy" things they would never do in their home country one has to accept the general risks. Point in case in the US. Many do white water rafting trips. Sometimes shit goes bad and people drowned. Usually because that tourist can't swim. Is that American incompetence. NOPE! Just an accident.

What Tax, and especially SA, are clueless about is being able to differentiate. They just sit in their Barko Lounger's and arm chair quarterback blaming every event on incompetence. Sure some are but you can't just blanket everything as those 2 asshats do.

‘ Yup, urrghh, ahem, now, lemme see, aaah, urr, ( clearing of throat ), now it seems to me all these Boeing crashes, multiple mass shootings, police killings of nigras, etseterah, are all jes’ things that just go wrong, like most things in life. Yuh jes’ have to roll with it. Shit happens, fella, shit happens’ ……quote from Albee Meathead the Third, Mayor, Fuckwitzville, Shitkickers County, Pennsylvania.

Poor Stumpy, our resident simpleton.

hiram z. dumpser 3rd.

This appears to be just an unfortunate event

nonsense. it was an avoidable tragedy. an unfortunate event would be walking of your own accord in the forest and getting savaged by a bear or being crushed by a falling tree.

an avoidable tragedy is being injured or killed as a result of using e.g. a zipwire carelessly routed in close proximity to trees susceptible to collapse or power cables within reach of the customers by the operator with scant regard for the wellbeing of his feepaying customers, carelessness by the operator has put customers in danger.

as an american, born and raised in the land of the ambulance chaser, you should know this.

We once had a thread, where a poster took it upon him, to prove the point, that Thailand was the most dangerous country to visit...... for a brit.

Said thread had quite a lot of traffic, iirc

Originally Posted by taxexile

as an american, born and raised in the land of the ambulance chaser, you should know this.

It's a fair point. If there were serious financial consequences they might actually be a little more careful.

Originally Posted by Stumpy

Point in case in the US. Many do white water rafting trips. Sometimes shit goes bad and people drowned. Usually because that tourist can't swim. Is that American incompetence. NOPE! Just an accident.

What Tax, and especially SA, are clueless about is being able to differentiate.

That's a very poor example, Stumpy. In the zipline case, the tourists trusted that all care had been taken in the zipline setup. Whereas if tourists cannot swim and then drown after getting tossed into the water by an upturned

raft, the blame is on them for going there unable to swim.

All it takes is for a zipline operator to have a little mindfulness and foresight; something resulting from brains that are often unfortunately lacking.

Gentlemen. many moons ago i became very well acquainted with the Manager of one of the Major Zipline attractions in Chiang Mai, i was studying HSE at the time and became very familiar with the set up and safety standards of that particular setup. i used this attraction as a case study to achieve higher qualifications.so IMHO the original article says that the tree fell on a bridge that the people were crossing, not the actual zipline itself, so the layout of the actual Zipiane had little to do with the incident.
I found their safety standards to certainly meet the industry norm.

Unfortunately in this modern age there are risks in everything we do, from crossing the road at a pedestrian crossing to Buying food at a supermarket.

I currently work in HSE in the Mining construction industry and we see incidents all the time, they all have to be investigated and a cause identified.
with the information provided by the original post and the attached news report, it would be very difficult to ascertain an actual root cause, no pun intended, without a lot more information.
all we can establish is that an incident occurred involving a tree, a rope bridge and a couple of people.
After years of reading Thai news reports i have started to lookout them with a high degree of scepticism and wonder how much truth is in the report.

any way i digress, the truth as we can see it,
Life has inherent risks and if you don't want to die, well you are shit out of luck because something will eventually kill you.

The chances of having a tree fall upon a particular rope bridge whilst someone is on it is so low it is not worth thinking about, and the fact that the tree fell over in Thailand has no bearing as trees fall down in most places, if not all, were there are trees.

You cannot remove all the risks and or hazards from everything, there are always "Acts of God" for example a person being struck by lightning as against being run over while you are riding a scooter, where it is the fault of the rider because he Chose to ride the scooter.

now lets see if i get reeded for that comment, thanks Nerv.

Originally Posted by moose65

The chances of having a tree fall upon a particular rope bridge whilst someone is on it is so low it is not worth thinking about

The chances of someone being on that bridge are high.

As for the trees, UK HSE standards include trees.

• the standards for managing the risk from trees, including risk assessment and where appropriate, routine checks by a competent person. Duty holders should have such systems in place to control risks from trees to their employees, contractors and members of the public.
  
  

Don't try and tell me they even considered this when hanging a bridge through that forest.

And that tree could have been hanging half out of the ground before it fell.

Somechai isn't looking, and any "investigation" they do will gloss over it and say "shit happens".

we see incidents all the time, they all have to be investigated and a cause identified.

And that's not just for shits and giggles. The reason for it is to take steps where appropriate to stop them happening.

In this case, putting the bridge back up, maybe chopping down a few trees for the cameras and business as usual.

And to add some Thai comedy to the mix:

Local officials have been concerned about zipline accidents in Chiang Mai. Over the past few years, several incidents have resulted in serious injuries and even fatalities.

These accidents often result from poor maintenance, inadequate safety checks, and untrained staff. In some cases, safety gear fails or is improperly secured.
Authorities have called for stricter regulations and better staff training to ensure the safety of thrill-seekers.

deaths due to sinking ferries, bald tyres on buses and trucks, unguarded deep holes in roads undergoing upgrades, live electrical cables hanging down over pavements and walkways.

unavoidable accidents. actscog god. every one of them.

Originally Posted by taxexile

deaths due to sinking ferries, bald tyres on buses and trucks, unguarded deep holes in roads undergoing upgrades, live electrical cables hanging down over pavements and walkways.

unavoidable accidents. actscog god. every one of them.

I fully agree Tax. Many deaths here are due to poor maintenance, neglect or honestly a basic sound maintenance system.

My point earlier was that some shit does just happen and people die. It can't always be some blanket Thai incompetence response that grumpy old coffin dodger SA drones on and on about. FFS shit happens in the UK and US all the time even with all the over governed insurance mandate controls. People falling off cliffs in Yosemite, people drowning on white water rafting trips, boating trips gone bad, parasailing etc. The only difference in our countries is now we have millions of shitbag lawyers who spend copious amounts of hours trying to sue the business.

Extreme sports have risks, you sign up for it. If you die, well sometimes that happens.

Honesty it is why so many go to foreign countries to experience these type of activities because the sue happy lawyers in our countries have made it impossible for a business to stay solvent.

Originally Posted by Stumpy

Honesty it is why so many go to foreign countries to experience these type of activities because the sue happy lawyers in our countries have made it impossible for a business to stay solvent.

Er, no.

tripadvisor.com

And there are OSHA laws about tree safety in the US, same as the UK.

Perhaps the difference is that in both of those, there would be severe consequences for sloppiness and corner-cutting?